USEFUL INFORMATION

VISA

Foreigners and Vietnamese-origin foreign passport holders are required to have Vietnamese visa when entering or exiting Vietnam. Exceptions include persons from countries exempted from visa requirement according to agreements signed with Vietnam or unilaterally granted by Vietnam.

ENTRY-EXIT PROCEDURES AND CUSTOMS

Upon entering or exiting Vietnam, everyone must complete entry – exit and customs procedures. For prompt completion of these procedures, one should specify clearly in the entry-exit and customs declaration form:

TRANSPORT

Road:

Vietnam has a vast road system. Together with a system of national high-ways are networks of provincial and district roads reaching all corners of the country. In each province, there are bus stations for inter-and-intra provincial routes with convenient bus services. Most cities and towns have taxi and public bus. Motorbikes and bicycles are common means of transportation in Vietnam.

Railway:

There are some railway routes, of which the North-South route connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is the longest with 1,726 km (stopping in Vinh, Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang, etc). There are also other railway routes connecting Hanoi with other provinces in the North namely Lang Son, Hai Phong and Lao Cai.

There are two railway stations in Hanoi. One is Hanoi Station with the Thong Nhat Train heading for the South and International Train heading for Beijing, China. The second is Tran Quy Cap Station with trains to provinces in the North and East of Vietnam and International Train to Kunming, China.

Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City stations are key stops in the North-South route of the Thong Nhat Train.

Waterway: Vietnam has a dense system of rivers, and a long coastline convenient for the development of waterway transport. There are two main types of waterway transport: sea and river transportation. Besides, canal transportation is also very popular among people living along canals, especially in provinces in the Southern Delta.

Port:

Includes sea and river ports. While the seaport system usually includes big international ports, river ports are usually small. Vietnam’s seaport system has contributed greatly to different economic sectors, including tourism. Tourists can enter Vietnam through major sea ports such as Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Aviation:

Vietnam has a relatively developed aviation as Vietnam is integrating into the world. Three international airports (Noi Bai, Da Nang and Tan Son Nhat) together with domestic airports have served millions of passengers and transported tens of millions of tones of goods annually.

Domestic flights: Vietnam has domestic flights connecting major cities. In addition, Aviation Service Company also provides helicopter services at customer’s request.

Vietnam-China borderline:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Currency: Vietnamese currency is the Vietnam Dong. Paper notes have nominal values of 500,000; 200,000, 100,000; 50,000; 20,000; 10,000; 5,000; 2,000; 1,000; 500, 200 and 100 dong. Coins are 5,000; 2,000; 1,000; 500 and 200 dong. Foreign currencies and traveler’s cheques can be exchanged at banks, hotels, international airports or at official currency exchange booths. The exchange rate between Vietnam Dong and US dollar is about 21,000 VND/USD.

Banks: Most of the banks in Vietnam are opened from 8AM to 3PM from Monday to Friday (closed on Saturdays and Sundays). Credit cards are widely accepted. ATMs are available at 5 star hotels and in big cities like Hanoi, Haiphong, Hue, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City, etc.

+ Mail and parcel postal service: As a member of Universal Postal Union, most of Vietnam’s Post Offices provide all mail and parcel postal services available in other countries, including express and registered services. Foreign delivery service is also available, including FedEx, DHL, etc.

+ Newspaper distribution service: Vietnamese newspapers and magazines can be bought at any Post Offices or agents. Customers can subscribe to Vietnamese newspapers or magazines at any Post Office or directly contact newspaper offices.

Miscellaneous Information:

Local time zone: GMT + 7.

Working hours of government agencies: 7.30AM to 4.30PM (1-hour lunch break) from Monday to Friday, not working on Saturdays and Sundays.

Power supply: Power supply in Vietnam is 220V/50Hz. Standard sockets are two-pin round plug. Most of hotels have both 220V and 110V power supply.